As the AI boom boosts the value of ‘Dr. Copper,’ Amazon.com Inc. secures first new U.S. copper mine in a decade

According to Financial News, as the global price of copper continues to rise amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, Amazon.com Inc. has reportedly secured the first new copper mine to open in the United States in a decade.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 15th (local time) that Amazon Web Services (AWS), which operates Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud business, has signed a two-year copper supply agreement with mining company Rio Tinto.

The deal was concluded to secure copper being extracted from a mine that Rio Tinto is developing east of the City of Tucson in Arizona. Development at this mine had been halted for some time after it was deemed to be a low-grade copper deposit with little economic value. Rio Tinto has decided to produce copper at the site through its Nuton copper project, which uses bacteria and acid to leach copper from the ore.

Copper is known as “Dr. Copper,” a leading indicator of the real economy. Recently, demand for copper has been surging. This is because it is an essential mineral for AI infrastructure, including data centers. Copper is a key material for wiring and circuit boards in AI servers, and it is also used in transformers and power lines for electricity supply.

Amazon.com Inc. appears to have taken this step to boost production at a time when demand for copper is soaring due to the AI boom, while the development of new mines is becoming increasingly difficult.

Recently, copper futures prices rose 41% last year and have continued to climb this month, surpassing 6 dollars per pound and hitting all-time highs. Because the United States relies heavily on copper imports, there is a possibility of further price increases. The U.S. government imposed tariffs of up to 50% on copper last year and has indicated that additional duties could be imposed.

However, the copper output from the mine covered by Amazon.com Inc.’s latest supply agreement is expected to be relatively limited. WSJ noted that Rio Tinto expects to produce about 14,000 tons of copper over four years through the Nuton copper project, a volume that is not even enough to fully operate a single data center.

y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter